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$4k gaming rig… overclock or not?

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JereHawk

Registered
Joined
Feb 22, 2015
I am looking to build a 3D gaming PC. I’d like to replace my entire system (PC, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse).

My question is would I have a more powerful PC if:
I bought less expensive ram/CPU/GPU and overclocked them with a single stage phase change system
OR
I just bought more expensive hardware with stock cooling?

To anyone who suggests the single stage option would you please list any vendors/individuals who sell them or link to a guide on building one if you have a favorite.

Thanks for any and all input. I appreciate it. Cheers!
 
Personally I would invest in a good water setup vs. phase for 24/7 gaming rig. You may eek out a little performance but it won't be much since you will only have the CPU under phase and the GPUs will be your primary limitation anyway.

I just put together a pretty crazy cart full of stuff on Newegg for $3,400 that could very easily be cut $600 and lose no real performance.

4790K
Maximus VII Formula
32GB DDR3 2400
2 x GTX 980
2 x 1TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD
2 x 3TB Seagate drives
EVGA 1000w Platinum PSU


You could very well do a cheaper version for very close to that performance and leave room in your budget for other stuff and put a pair of GTX 970's under water for less.

An extra 400-500mhz on your CPU won't really help much, assuming you will be going with a 4k display for that budget anyway. A good 4790K on custom water can bump 5ghz already.
 
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nyvhM

G.Skill has a black version of the kit

Witchy, a couple of things:
First, 850 EVO is faster and cheaper than the 840 EVO.
Second, I see no reason to pay the premium for the Classified GPU in this instance.
Last, I don't think the monitor you picked is 3D.

I like that memory kit though, just a few bucks for a nice jump in speed.
 
lol, thought I selected the 850

I like the Classy's with this budget , if it were less I would have saved some cash there

Glanced right over the 3D requirement :facepalm:

Spend less for the Perf's and grab the ROG
 
Wow. That's more effort and more of a response(s) than I expected. Thanks tool_462, ATMINSIDE, Witchdoctor, and sobe. I had posted this question on a few different forums and the response was unanimous. Phase cooling is not worth it for me.

I had been researching overclocking and different methods for about a week now. So! I am thinking water cooled (closed loop), air cooled (something like this http://www.noctua.at/inc/imageviewer.php?item=68&pnr=2 (erm but not for $100 which is what newegg had that listed at o_O)), or maybe just going for a quiet system with low db fans. I don't feel like it's worth putting a lot of effort into a water cooled system because the best temps you'll get from it are ambient. A bit beside the point now but I was planning on phasing the GPU(s) as well as the proc =P.

A week ago when I decided I wanted to look into building a new computer I quickly threw parts together at newegg. Method was: Go into a primary category (eg: video cards), sort by “best rating”, then more or less pick the first device with a “high” quantity of ratings and a decent price. Was mostly looking to see about how much it might cost me I guess. I used a similar method today to come up with this set of gear along with of course the tons of advice I’ve been getting on various forums.

Here’s what I came up with: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=27361266

I looked at the builds listed and pulled elements that I thought would suite me best. Please let me know if I overlooked something: will have some kind of bottleneck, really skimped, went way overboard on some aspect, am missing some required obvious part (“er the motherboard?” ha!), etc. I did end up going over budget by $283 but that’s not bad IMO. Oh! Also! Thanks for the link to http://pcpartpicker.com that might bring cost down to budget. =P
 
I decided to see what I would pick if I had $4k to spend. Here's what I picked, using some of the same "best rating" sorting that you mentioned: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6rr24D

ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (w/ M.2 Ultra Slot support for faster SSD)
64GB Ram 8x8 2400mhz Gskill
16GB VRAM (2x8GB r9 290x's)
2TB Seagate
1050W Seasonic
i7 5960x
Noctua CPU cooler for 2011v3 socket
4k monitor (IPS quality, not 3D or 120hz but has displayport)
Blu-ray writer
NZXT Source Case
Gaming keyboard and laser mouse

At the time the parts were picked, the (subtotal) Base Total was $3998.29,
Promo Discounts: -$20.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$110.00
Shipping: $21.90
Total: $3890.19
 
Last edited:
Wow. That's more effort and more of a response(s) than I expected. Thanks tool_462, ATMINSIDE, Witchdoctor, and sobe. I had posted this question on a few different forums and the response was unanimous. Phase cooling is not worth it for me.

I had been researching overclocking and different methods for about a week now. So! I am thinking water cooled (closed loop), air cooled (something like this http://www.noctua.at/inc/imageviewer.php?item=68&pnr=2 (erm but not for $100 which is what newegg had that listed at o_O)), or maybe just going for a quiet system with low db fans. I don't feel like it's worth putting a lot of effort into a water cooled system because the best temps you'll get from it are ambient. A bit beside the point now but I was planning on phasing the GPU(s) as well as the proc =P.

A week ago when I decided I wanted to look into building a new computer I quickly threw parts together at newegg. Method was: Go into a primary category (eg: video cards), sort by “best rating”, then more or less pick the first device with a “high” quantity of ratings and a decent price. Was mostly looking to see about how much it might cost me I guess. I used a similar method today to come up with this set of gear along with of course the tons of advice I’ve been getting on various forums.

Here’s what I came up with: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=27361266

I looked at the builds listed and pulled elements that I thought would suite me best. Please let me know if I overlooked something: will have some kind of bottleneck, really skimped, went way overboard on some aspect, am missing some required obvious part (“er the motherboard?” ha!), etc. I did end up going over budget by $283 but that’s not bad IMO. Oh! Also! Thanks for the link to http://pcpartpicker.com that might bring cost down to budget. =P

I'm sorry, but I'd be sad if you built what's in that newegg cart.

PSU= garbage
RAM= waste of money by about 4x
Motherboard costs too much for what you get
Budget CPU cooler on a 4K build
No mechanical keyboard
 
Reasoning behind z97 instead of x99 can be found here:
http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=199864
One of the great sources of information IMO in that thread is from jasonlylevene.
"It's different if you're not gaming. I'm a developer, not a gamer, so higher core count returns dividends, whereas gamers need fast cores. This is where X99 is attractive. The 6 and 8 core chips on X99 would be of interest, but the cost is beyond reason without strong motivation. Some of the 8 core chips are $1,000. The one thing X99 gives us over Z97 is a larger PCIe lane inventory. You won't see dual 16x PCIe on Z97, but it's possible on X99. Reviews show, however, that current GPU offerings dont really benefit much from that. Similarly X99 supports DDR4, at a price premium. Higher RAM speeds are possible, but we see in reviews it returns very little if any recognizable gaming performance."

Heatsink…I was under the impression Air vs AIO were about the same in terms of cooling. Found this chart which is nice. http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2771&page=5 Looks like the aio glacer 240l beats the hyper 212 by about 7 degrees F. Seems like it’s worth getting the aio to me.

As far as the ram I loaded everything in pcpartpicker to see if it’d be cheaper (boy was it) and pcpartpicker notified me the ram and proc were not compatible and the ram would have to be undervolted. When picking new ram I bounced to the other extreme of: low timing instead of high frequency. Somewhat certain timing is often considered better for gaming? I really need to find some charts on timing vs frequency for gaming. Here is a slightly different / up to date version of what I’m considering.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B8JvhM

Regarding PSU. Honestly I have close to zero idea how to go about picking a “good” psu or even what my system requirements are. I noticed the pcpartpicker “Estimated Wattage 541” but do not know how accurate that is and how much you should over watt a psu. I do know if you want to er on the side of caution you want bigger rather than smaller. I also understand the Platinum/Gold/etc. certification system they have in place. Basically filtered 1k+, sorted by rating, and picked a PSU based off rating/cost.

Motherboard is overpriced too eh? What do you think should I be looking for in a MB at that price bracket?

As far as the keyboard not being mechanical, lol =P. One of my crazy little things is I insist on having an “ergo” keyboard. I really really wanted to get a truly split ergo keyboard this time around. Something like https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ or http://matias.ca/ergopro/pc/ However I have a Logitech G13 pad which I LOVE. It’s the first device that allowed me to (relatively) easily bind all my abilities (to one hand) as a druid in WoW when I played. Yay for keybindings. Point being about the G13, I want a keyboard that has a similar feel as I would probably hate the G13 if I got use to mechanical. The freestyle2 fit this requirement but I read it had ghosting issues. The matias ergopro is just too expensive AND you have to wait for another production line. Additionally the keys would probably feel way too different because they use “Matias Quiet Click mechanical switches.”

This machine is primarily being built for Skyrim on ultra with a crap-ton of mods and Crysis on ultra. I will definitely be making a ton of modifications before buying the system and probably won’t buy if for 1-3 months anyway. I have time to research/modify. =P There is a ton of additional research I plan on doing before I will feel like I’m “done.”

Final thought: I don’t mind coming down from my budget, really $4k was more of a soft max. I am going to “build” a more economical PC in addition to see how similar it is.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-6.html the $190 i5-4460 is sitting at 97% for skyrim vs the $340 i7-4790k which is only 3% more. I imagine there are similar trends across the board for PC hardware, huge savings for marginal performance loss. At the end of the day what matters is being able to play on ultra settings and all mods at 60fps. If I can get that for a lot less cash…then great =P.

I would like to thank those who are following this thread again. It’s nice to be able to get advice from knowledgeable people.
 
I still say you're better off with a 5820K with your budget. It'll last longer than a 4790K in terms of usability because of the extra cores.

Heatsink, you chose a budget heatsink. GOOD AIR is comparable to an AIO. Budget air isn't.
Also, that difference is in °C.

If you're looking at DDR3, go with some 2133MHz CL9 sticks.
Best performance/price range currently.

The suggested PSUs by both myself and Witchdoctor are amazing units, grab one of those.

For Z97, look at the Extreme6. It has more features than the Hero and is cheaper.

See here:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/z9DpMp
 
If you want to save money the z97 platform will do just that and be a very strong platform.

Just keep in mind that consuls rule the world and they are sporting 8 cores

The developers are going to exploit this fact sooner rather than later IMO.

If your budget remains at 4K like I said, I see no reason not to go x99

If you want a competent gamer on a reasonable budget it is a whole different mind set
 
Reasoning behind z97 instead of x99 can be found here:
http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=199864
One of the great sources of information IMO in that thread is from jasonlylevene.
"It's different if you're not gaming. I'm a developer, not a gamer, so higher core count returns dividends, whereas gamers need fast cores. This is where X99 is attractive. The 6 and 8 core chips on X99 would be of interest, but the cost is beyond reason without strong motivation. Some of the 8 core chips are $1,000. The one thing X99 gives us over Z97 is a larger PCIe lane inventory. You won't see dual 16x PCIe on Z97, but it's possible on X99. Reviews show, however, that current GPU offerings dont really benefit much from that. Similarly X99 supports DDR4, at a price premium. Higher RAM speeds are possible, but we see in reviews it returns very little if any recognizable gaming performance."

Heatsink…I was under the impression Air vs AIO were about the same in terms of cooling. Found this chart which is nice. http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2771&page=5 Looks like the aio glacer 240l beats the hyper 212 by about 7 degrees F. Seems like it’s worth getting the aio to me.

As far as the ram I loaded everything in pcpartpicker to see if it’d be cheaper (boy was it) and pcpartpicker notified me the ram and proc were not compatible and the ram would have to be undervolted. When picking new ram I bounced to the other extreme of: low timing instead of high frequency. Somewhat certain timing is often considered better for gaming? I really need to find some charts on timing vs frequency for gaming. Here is a slightly different / up to date version of what I’m considering.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B8JvhM

Regarding PSU. Honestly I have close to zero idea how to go about picking a “good” psu or even what my system requirements are. I noticed the pcpartpicker “Estimated Wattage 541” but do not know how accurate that is and how much you should over watt a psu. I do know if you want to er on the side of caution you want bigger rather than smaller. I also understand the Platinum/Gold/etc. certification system they have in place. Basically filtered 1k+, sorted by rating, and picked a PSU based off rating/cost.

Motherboard is overpriced too eh? What do you think should I be looking for in a MB at that price bracket?

As far as the keyboard not being mechanical, lol =P. One of my crazy little things is I insist on having an “ergo” keyboard. I really really wanted to get a truly split ergo keyboard this time around. Something like https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ or http://matias.ca/ergopro/pc/ However I have a Logitech G13 pad which I LOVE. It’s the first device that allowed me to (relatively) easily bind all my abilities (to one hand) as a druid in WoW when I played. Yay for keybindings. Point being about the G13, I want a keyboard that has a similar feel as I would probably hate the G13 if I got use to mechanical. The freestyle2 fit this requirement but I read it had ghosting issues. The matias ergopro is just too expensive AND you have to wait for another production line. Additionally the keys would probably feel way too different because they use “Matias Quiet Click mechanical switches.”

This machine is primarily being built for Skyrim on ultra with a crap-ton of mods and Crysis on ultra. I will definitely be making a ton of modifications before buying the system and probably won’t buy if for 1-3 months anyway. I have time to research/modify. =P There is a ton of additional research I plan on doing before I will feel like I’m “done.”

Final thought: I don’t mind coming down from my budget, really $4k was more of a soft max. I am going to “build” a more economical PC in addition to see how similar it is.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-6.html the $190 i5-4460 is sitting at 97% for skyrim vs the $340 i7-4790k which is only 3% more. I imagine there are similar trends across the board for PC hardware, huge savings for marginal performance loss. At the end of the day what matters is being able to play on ultra settings and all mods at 60fps. If I can get that for a lot less cash…then great =P.

I would like to thank those who are following this thread again. It’s nice to be able to get advice from knowledgeable people.

I can definitely understand the premium for DDR4 and the X99 platform. The system I picked was aimed at future-proofing and taking advantage of more cores for games where there is an increase in performance for 8-core processors like Hitman and Nexuiz: However, if you are looking for Skyrim and Crysis, extra VRAM is something you will definitely want and 4GB per GPU is really the bare minimum needed for those ultra/max settings. That said, I can definitely pick an X79 or Z97 system with much for nearly $1000 less by picking a 4930k and the same amount (64GB) of DDR3 RAM. The extra savings can be spent towards a better keyboard and monitor- freesync monitors will soon be out, though 4k at 24" would produce buttery smooth graphics at a great price. Any GPU upgrade that makes use of those extra lanes is only going to work on a CPU that has more than 28 lanes, and Ivy-Bridge E uses 40 lanes for their 4930k. The stock 3.4ghz will help with faster game performance on most 4-threaded games, but the extra 2 cores will help in the future. New part suggestion. I didn't add a keyboard, mouse or case fans, but everything else I personally would keep about the same- perhaps CAS latency 11 with 2133 mhz instead of 1866, etc: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kX8WwP
 
I can definitely understand the premium for DDR4 and the X99 platform. The system I picked was aimed at future-proofing and taking advantage of more cores for games where there is an increase in performance for 8-core processors like Hitman and Nexuiz: However, if you are looking for Skyrim and Crysis, extra VRAM is something you will definitely want and 4GB per GPU is really the bare minimum needed for those ultra/max settings. That said, I can definitely pick an X79 or Z97 system with much for nearly $1000 less by picking a 4930k and the same amount (64GB) of DDR3 RAM. The extra savings can be spent towards a better keyboard and monitor- freesync monitors will soon be out, though 4k at 24" would produce buttery smooth graphics at a great price. Any GPU upgrade that makes use of those extra lanes is only going to work on a CPU that has more than 28 lanes, and Ivy-Bridge E uses 40 lanes for their 4930k. The stock 3.4ghz will help with faster game performance on most 4-threaded games, but the extra 2 cores will help in the future. New part suggestion. I didn't add a keyboard, mouse or case fans, but everything else I personally would keep about the same- perhaps CAS latency 11 with 2133 mhz instead of 1866, etc: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kX8WwP

In your build you also added the 2 video cards' VRAM together... Having two 8GB cards is still only 8GB, not 16GB. On top of that, there are various things I would not recommend in your build.

Stick to the RoG monitor for sure as it gives you everything you wanted, and grab 2 980's in SLI. From there you really have to decide if you really want to go the X99 route or stick with Z97.
 
In your build you also added the 2 video cards' VRAM together... Having two 8GB cards is still only 8GB, not 16GB. ]

I must not know enough about PCs to know why the scaling doesn't work here. If anyone would like to explain why Quad-CFX doesn't work, or at least in this format, please help.
 
Because what is stored on one card, is stored on all the others (mirrored). So since its the same data, it doesn't "add up" as, again, its the same data on each card not different. Its not a 'pool' of ram.
 
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